Tag Archives: change

Jennifer Corriero is co-founder and executive director of Taking It Global. Her poem, originally published on Jennifer’s blog in December 2009, is reprinted with kind permission from the author.

How does change happen?This is perhaps one of those eternal questionsthat carries both simplicityand depths of complexityjuxtaposed in a tension so bright and dark thatemotions explode and identities blur.

Is your belief defined by your role or is your role defined by your belief?

We’ve all experienced a situation—whether in a marriage, friendship or business relationship—where we find ourselves thinking about the other person and saying, “I love you, BUT…”. It’s in that moment we realize a particular behavior of theirs is not acceptable to us and has become a source of stress and resentment. For many, resentment almost always leads to a downward spiral of self-destructive behavior and the eventual destruction of the relationship.

I was coaching a friend recently who is in such a dilemma. She is and always has been the primary breadwinner in her marriage. Her husband is a charming, lovable, creative man who is prone to spending binges whenever he is traveling or working on various short-term projects. This usually leads to an ‘explosive’ encounter when the credit card bills arrive. These angry eruptions are followed by his characteristic pattern of apologies, remorse and promises followed by feelings

I think there is a time when we realize that ‘what got us here’ isn’t sufficient to get us ‘where we want to go’. These times are the transition points in life, the points where we have an opportunity to make major choices and embark on a new phase of our lives—to experience a transformation in how we observe and relate to ourselves, other people and the world in general. I can recall having this feeling when I left home for college, again when I got married, when my children were born and at various times when I changed the direction of my career.

I think most of us face the hard questions about who we are and what our life is about when we retire. I don’t think you need a special occasion, however, to experience a transformation. A transformational moment can happen anytime we realize that we have a choice we didn’t know we had. These moments often come as a surprise, and are often accompanied with a rush of excitement combined with a touch of terror.

I’m sitting at my desk, watching the sun set behind the mountains, listening to the city winding down at the end of a long, hot summer day. My big move is now complete: all boxes unpacked, everything put away (at least somewhere, for now), cupboards stocked, and fresh linens on the bed. Three months ago, when I chose to relocate, I had no idea it would be such a circuitous route to my new ‘home’. But now that I’m here, I’m glad for everything that showed up in my

Earlier in the spring, I wrote an article titled The Care and Feeding of
Seniors in which I stated "I view aging: as a natural progression of life that embodies endless possibilities. This view is the core reason why I joined the Eldering Institute, an organization that promotes a life of power, purpose and possibility for Elders. I choose to live in a world in which individuals, regardless of age, are committed to continually creating new possibilities for their lives. I am speaking of possibilities that allow individuals to share the very best of who they are. In the world I envision, imagine the impact that Elders, collaborating with other generations, will have on the communities in which they live, learn, work and play!" Through my work with the Eldering Institute, I continue to be exposed to the work of other organizations around the world that share our concern for collaboration among the generations within community, for re-defining the way aging is experienced, and for seniors living a life in which new possibilities are generated. What I am beginning to observe is the active influence that ‘Boomers’ (those born after World War II) are now exerting in re-defining the way in which aging occurs for society. As Boomers experience aging for themselves, their interest appears to be shifting from a focus on family, work, and freedom ’55’ to a focus now (either directly or indirectly) on aging in which experience, wisdom and grace are willingly contributed back into community. Boomers are emerging as active in organizations around the world that are focusing their individual and collective efforts on the quality of life in the communities in which we live, learn, work, and play. For example: The Vital Aging Network (VAN) is dedicated to creating vital communities in which people of all generations work together to find the right balance between meeting individual needs and achieving the common good. Community Earth Councils (CECs) are groups of local citizens (young people and elders) in thoughtful, heartfelt conversation about their interests and concerns, followed by meaningful and productive action addressing both local and global human and environmental needs. The Ashland Institute helps individuals, organizations and communities manifest their potential for wholeness. They seek to create opportunities for renewed alignment with purpose combined with a passion for emerging possibilities. Here at The Eldering Institute we are a stand for people of all generations collaborating to create a world that works for everyone. We offer courses and products that guide people to create satisfying, fulfilling lives, demonstrate their wisdom in action and collaborate in inventing possibilities that support a sustainable future. Visitors to our web site are encouraged to sign the Eldering Manifesto in support of transforming our view and experience of growing older from one of decline, loss, boredom, isolation, loneliness and resignation to one of power, purpose and possibility. What is increasingly clear is that new opportunities to collaborate to meet local, regional and global needs are being created as possibility each and every day. No matter what age you are, the opportunities to impact your world have never been greater. As a ‘Boomer’ myself, I consider it a privilege to collaborate with other generations in which each one of us contributes the very best of who we are to enhance the quality of life in the communities in which we live.

Is the possibility of being a ‘Change Agent for Aging’ in your future?

I was working with a group of people last week in Mexico. The session was about planning and they chose as their theme for the year “I am my word”. The idea was to emphasize ‘count-on-ability’ and the importance of delivering on plans. I spoke to them for a bit and shared the following reflections.

My work is about ‘Being’. It is an inquiry into who we are as human beings that is grounded in a great deal of theory, practice, rigorous philosophy, biology and more recently in some of the implications of what we’re learning from quantum physics. This ‘ontological paradigm’ claims that whatever ‘reality is’ (including who we are) is a matter of interpretation—and all interpretations occur in language. Language is to us what water is to a fish. It is the medium

I’m thinking of the term “mid-life change” often these days. No matter what age we are, we are always in mid-life: neither at the beginning, nor at the end…yet. Most people tend to think of mid-life change as something that happens when we’re in our 40s or 50s. But what if we took the view that, while we are alive, we are always in the ‘middle’ of our lives, in the midst of constant change? Would we, perhaps, become more comfortable, less anxious with changes in our lives?

I wonder if there is something qualitatively different about mid-life change that makes it worth distinguishing? Countless books have been (and are still being) written about this and about the ‘second half of life’ (which Jim defines as being “whatever we have left”). My perspective is that mid-life—this moment of ‘now’ that we are living (no matter what age we are)—is the best time to love change, to transform ourselves, to dance with the flow of what’s

There is a nice retrospective on the 60s going around the web, a kind of YouTube-type overview of some of the highlights to remember. I am generally not big on trips down memory lane, but this was kind of fun. It seems like a long time ago today when we danced the “Twist” or transformed from bobbie socks and surfer movies into flower children. I realized while watching that we, the ‘Boomers’